How 33 year old AirBnb CEO, Brian Chesky, focuses his time.

By Josh Walsh on Mar 27, 2018

* This is commentary written by
Josh Walsh
on a post originally by
Leigh Gallagher
at
Fortune.

“If you think about it, Airbnb is like a giant ship,” he says, holding up the napkin. “And as CEO I’m the captain of the ship. But I really have two jobs: The first job is, I have to worry about everything below the waterline; anything that can sink the ship.” He points to the scribbled line of waves that cuts the boat in half, and below that, two holes with water rushing in.

“Beyond that,” he continues, “I have to focus on two to three areas that I’m deeply passionate about—that aren’t below the waterline but that I focus on because I can add unique value, I’m truly passionate about them, and they can truly transform the company if they go well.” The three areas he’s picked: product, brand, and culture. “I’m pretty hands-on with those three,” he says. “And with the others I really try to empower leaders and get involved only when there are holes below the waterline.”

Leigh Gallagher

There’s been a lot written about the strategic focus of successful entrepreneurs. Eisenhower’s Matrix, Peter Drucker, and others.

I find Brian’s approach refreshing: follow your unique strengths, empower your team, and fix the problems that might sink you. His distinction of patching holes only below the water line is especially meaningful to me as I often pick the wrong problems to get personally invested in.